“Vad bra svenska du talar, verkligen!”
Translation: “You speak really good Swedish, really!”
Ever since coming here to Linköping to continue my studies, I seem to get this quite a lot. Once I tell them about my background of course.
After I tell people about moving to Sweden as a 7-year-old from the Philippines and being in medical school for four years in the UK, somehow, people seem to only focus on that. I chose to study in the UK, because I have studied in English ever since moving to Sweden – international schools from elementary to university. However, I did grow up in Sweden in the end. Somehow, the fact that I’ve been raised in Sweden is overshadowed by my immigrant background and international education.
Should I take this as a compliment? That I learnt how to speak good Swedish after living in Sweden for over 10 years? And didn’t forget it whilst abroad?
Or should I feel offended that because I look and am from a different country, I was expected to speak Swedish badly?
Nevertheless, I must understand, I’m a minority. Not everyone have met us modern Swedes with international backgrounds. In that case, I can be an ambassador to show that assimilation into Swedish culture from another background is possible. Maybe next time they meet someone like me, they won’t be as surprised.
